The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) was at Javaroma on Monday for an open house aimed at helping business sign up for Emergency Business Relief Funding and Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development (SEED) Fund, which is designed to help business recover from both the pandemic and evacuation.
It offers businesses up to $5,000 to help with expenses.
“We’ve been communicating that we’ve had this program, but not everybody goes on the web looking for these things, and it’s also difficult for people to come during standard office hours,” said Kris Johnson, ITI’s North Slave region superintendent. “We thought we’d help by making ourselves as accessible as possible.”
Johnson said that the idea for this open house come together quickly after ITI Minister Caroline Wawzonek attended a business community meeting. During the meeting, it became evident that many businesses were struggling and needed help.
Johnson added that the budget for SEED currently stands at $1 million with additional support being sought to top up that amount, mainly from the federal government.
She acknowledged that while they are doing their best to provide support, it’s going to be a tough journey.
“It’s expected that the effects will continue to be felt for a while,” she said.
Rami Kassem, Javaroma’s owner, said that having GNWT representatives on site and in person was a nice change.
“It’s very interesting to see them talking to businesses and just not (having people) go to the office, or connect with somebody by email,” he said. “Now you have the (personal) touch. It’s very important and I just loved it, so that definitely has a better kind of feeling.”
Kassem was surprised by the turnout, noting that people started gathering before it all began.
“By that, you can tell how much people are eager to get this support,” he said.
Kassem revealed that his business have been significantly affected by the evacuation. All four of his locations have seen a drop of between 30 to 50 per-cent and said the situation has gone worse than the pandemic.
Kassem also urged the territorial government to provide more support.
“It still doesn’t scratch the surface, even for lots of businesses, so we’re looking for more help,” he said.
Johnson said that ITI was planning to host the open house once again either this week or next week, but no specific date has been confirmed.
She suggested that when business owners apply for SEED funding, they should include some of their bigger bills in their applications as these would likely get them close to the $5,000 support limit.